DATE=6/14/2000
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=RUSSIA / ARREST (L-UPDATE)
NUMBER=2-263483
BYLINE=OWEN FAY
DATELINE=MOSCOW
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: The Russian government has been spending
much of the day/Wednesday denying that the arrest
of a high-profile media tycoon was politically
motivated. It is widely understood that the
Kremlin has been unhappy with Vladimir Gusinsky
and his organisation, leading many to think his
arrest is part of a media crackdown. From Moscow,
Owen Fay has this report.
TEXT: Vladimir Gusinsky, whose publications and
radio and television stations are often critical
of the Kremlin, was taken to a Moscow jail on
Tuesday night on suspicion of embezzling up to 10
million dollars. His supporters were quick to
denounce his detention as being politically
motivated.
/// OPT /// Mr. Guzinsky heads a company called
Media-MOST, which in turn controls the television
station N-T-V, the only privately run station in
Russia. N-T-V is known for being highly critical
of the government, particularly over the war in
Chechnya, and that is leading to the charges of
intimidation (by the government). /// END OPT ///
President Putin, speaking in Madrid, Spain where
he is on an official visit, said he knew nothing
of the arrest.
/// PUTIN ACTUALITY IN RUSSIAN, FADE UNDER ///
"I'm on business meetings," President Putin said,
"so I won't touch any, if they even exist, of the
political aspects of that case." He went on to
say, "I simply don't know anything about it."
However, President Putin later denied Mr.
Guzinsky had been arrested because his news
organisations have angered the Kremlin.
Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov also
dismissed fears of a media crackdown by saying
there must have been serious grounds to justify
taking Mr. Guzinsky into custody.
/// KASYANOV ACTUALITY IN RUSSIAN, FADE UNDER ///
"According to the law," said Mr. Kasyanov, "an
arrest like this is carried out only in exclusive
cases," and he added, "I think that the
Prosecutor's Office must have thought twice
before making their decision."
Last month, heavily armed masked paramilitaries -
under the direction of the Russian government's
intelligence service - raided Mr. Gusinsky's
headquarters in what was widely seen as an act of
intimidation, and later ruled illegal in court.
After the raid, a media watchdog group was set up
to protect press freedoms. It is chaired by
Mikhail Gorbachev, the former president of the
Soviet Union. He says the arrest is not only an
attack on the media, but an attempt to embarrass
President Putin:
/// GORBACHEV ACTUALITY IN RUSSIAN, FADE UNDER
///
"I think it's not only an effort to step on the
throat of a free press," Mr. Gorbachev said, "but
it's also an effort to strike the President who
just started serious and very difficult reforms."
Masha Lipmann is the editor of the news magazine
Itogi - one of Mr. Gusinsky's publications. She
says that Mr. Gorbachev's theory is nonsense, and
that in order to understand why an independent
Russian media tycoon would be arrested without
charge, it is not necessary to look any further
than Vladimir Putin:
/// LIPMANN ACTUALITY - IN ENGLISH ///
I think he is a no-nonsense man, and I
think he cares about having his goals
implemented. And if freedom of the press
gets in his way, he will crack down on the
freedom of the press and I don't think he
will hesitate.
///END ACT///
Mr. Gusinsky's company also owns the radio
station Echo Moskvy, which is the same station
that hosted a live call-in show with President
Clinton during his recent visit to Russia.
(Signed)
NEB/OF/GE/KL
14-Jun-2000 13:55 PM EDT (14-Jun-2000 1755 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
.